Minimum

Minimum is a 2014 third-person shooter that is far more demanding on the graphics pipeline than its age might suggest, and this pairing of the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K with the Intel Arc B370 lands at a very specific point in the database. The combo ranks 3425 out of 3712 tested combinations, placing it in the bottom 8% of all tested systems for this title. That low rank is not a reflection of the CPU, which is a top-tier desktop part, but rather the consequence of pairing it with a GPU that sits in the 5th percentile of all tested graphics cards. The data shows a system that is severely unbalanced for gaming, where the processor’s considerable compute headroom is left largely untapped because the integrated graphics solution becomes the primary bottleneck at every resolution and settings combination measured.

How This Combo Ranks

The combo’s position at rank 3425 out of 3712 tested combinations in Minimum is a clear signal that this is not a configuration built for high-refresh-rate competitive play or even smooth 60 FPS gameplay at most settings. To contextualize this, the Intel Arc B370’s average benchmark score of 1184 puts it in the 5th percentile of all GPUs, with nearest rivals including the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (score 1186, delta -0.2%), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (score 1190, delta -0.5%), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (score 1192, delta -0.7%). These are all legacy or low-end mobile parts from over a decade ago, which underscores how modest the graphics performance is. The CPU, by contrast, has an average benchmark score of 70879 and sits in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with its nearest rivals being the Intel Xeon 6511P (score 71051, delta -0.2%), the Intel Xeon Platinum 8270 (score 71370, delta -0.7%), the Intel Core i7-14700KF (score 70163, delta 1%), and the AMD Ryzen 7 9700F (score 69996, delta 1.3%). The delta between the GPU’s performance class and the CPU’s performance class is enormous, and the measured FPS in Minimum reflects this imbalance.

In practical terms, the rank means that the vast majority of other tested combos, whether they use mid-range dedicated GPUs from several generations ago or modern entry-level cards, will deliver a better experience in Minimum. The data indicates that this combo is only suitable for very light gaming workloads, and even then, only at lower resolutions and settings. The fact that the arc B370 is an integrated graphics processor (IGP) with a 25 W TDP and no dedicated memory, instead relying on system shared memory, explains why its performance is so far behind any discrete solution. When compared to the nearest rival GPUs, the Arc B370 is essentially trading blows with parts that were already considered low-end when Minimum was first released, which is a telling indicator of its capabilities in this title.

CPU Role

The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K is a 20-core, 20-thread desktop processor based on the Arrow Lake architecture, built on a 3 nm process at TSMC with 17,800 million transistors on a 243 mm² die. Its base clock is 3.90 GHz with a boost clock of 5.50 GHz, and it has a 125 W TDP, fitting the Intel Socket 1851 platform. The cache hierarchy includes 192 KB of L1 per core, 3 MB of L2 per core, and 30 MB of shared L3 cache, with support for DDR5 memory in a dual-channel configuration providing 102.4 GB/s of bandwidth. In synthetic benchmarks, the 265K scores 35850 in Cinebench R23 multi-core, 2020 in single-core, 23085 in Geekbench multi-core, and 2713 in single-core. Its Passmark multi-thread score is 58594, with a single-thread score of 4928.

For Minimum, a game released in 2014, the CPU’s role is largely about ensuring that frame times remain consistent and that the game logic, physics, and AI are never starved for processing power. The 265K’s 20 cores and 20 threads are far more than this game can utilize, as most titles from that era were optimized for quad-core or at most six-core processors. The high boost clock of 5.50 GHz on the performance cores provides excellent single-threaded throughput, which is often more important for older game engines that rely on a few heavily loaded threads. However, the benchmark results indicate that the CPU is never the limiting factor in this combo. Even at 1080p Low settings, where CPU overhead is typically highest relative to GPU load, the system only achieves 85 FPS average, which is a modest figure for a CPU that scores in the 94th percentile. This suggests that the Arc B370 is so slow that it cannot keep up with the CPU’s ability to feed frames, creating a situation where the GPU is maxed out while the CPU sits largely idle. The 265K’s Cinebench R23 multi-core score of 35850 and single-core score of 2020 demonstrate its capability, but those numbers translate to little in this pairing because the graphics solution is the hard ceiling.

FAQ

Q: Can this combo run Minimum at 60 FPS?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the measured average FPS is 85, which exceeds 60 FPS. At 1080p Medium, the average drops to 65 FPS, still above 60. However, at 1080p High, the average is 55 FPS, and at 1080p Ultra, it falls to 42 FPS. At higher resolutions, 60 FPS is not achievable; 1440p Low produces 55 FPS, and 4K Low produces 30 FPS.

Q: What is the best settings preset for 1080p gameplay?

A: The data shows that Medium settings at 1080p deliver 65 FPS average with a minimum of 56 FPS and a maximum of 75 FPS. This is the highest settings preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS while providing a playable minimum. Low settings at 1080p give 85 FPS, but Medium offers a better visual experience with only a 20 FPS average penalty.

Q: How does the Arc B370 compare to its nearest GPU rivals?

A: The Arc B370 has an average benchmark score of 1184. Its nearest rivals are the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5570 (1186, 0.2% faster), the ATI Radeon HD 5770 (1190, 0.5% faster), and the AMD Radeon HD 7650M (1192, 0.7% faster). The AMD FirePro M2000 is 1.4% slower with a score of 1168. This places the Arc B370 in the 5th percentile of all GPUs.

Q: Is the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K a bottleneck in this combo?

A: No, the data indicates the CPU is far more powerful than the GPU. The 265K scores in the 94th percentile of all CPUs, with an average benchmark score of 70879. In contrast, the Arc B370 is in the 5th percentile. In Minimum, the FPS is consistently limited by the GPU, as evidenced by the significant FPS drops when increasing resolution, which is a GPU-bound characteristic.

Q: What is the performance difference between Low and Ultra settings at 1440p?

A: At 1440p, Low settings produce an average of 55 FPS, while Ultra settings produce an average of 27 FPS. This represents a 28 FPS drop, or roughly a 51% reduction in average FPS, when moving from the lowest to the highest settings preset. Medium settings at 1440p average 42 FPS, and High averages 35 FPS.

Q: Does this combo support modern graphics APIs needed for Minimum?

A: The Arc B370 supports DirectX 12 Ultimate (12_2), OpenGL 4.6, and Vulkan 1.4. Minimum, being a 2014 title, will run under older DirectX versions, but the GPU’s API support is more than sufficient for compatibility. The GPU’s 3DMark Steel Nomad DX12 score is 1184, which is a measure of its modern API performance.

Measured FPS Breakdown

The measured FPS data for Minimum with this combo covers three resolutions (1920x1080, 2560x1440, and 3840x2160) and four settings presets (Low, Medium, High, and Ultra). At 1080p, the average FPS ranges from 85 on Low to 42 on Ultra. Specifically, 1080p Low averages 85 FPS, 1080p Medium averages 65 FPS with a minimum of 56 and a maximum of 75, 1080p High averages 55 FPS, and 1080p Ultra averages 42 FPS. This shows that even at the lowest resolution, the system cannot maintain a locked 60 FPS at High or Ultra settings, but it does exceed 60 FPS at Low and Medium.

Moving to 1440p, the averages drop considerably. At 1440p Low, the average is 55 FPS, which is just below the 60 FPS threshold. 1440p Medium averages 42 FPS with a minimum of 36 and a maximum of 48, 1440p High averages 35 FPS, and 1440p Ultra averages 27 FPS. The pattern is consistent: each step up in settings costs roughly 10-15 FPS on average, and the minimum FPS at Medium (36) suggests that frame pacing may be inconsistent.

At 4K (3840x2160), the performance becomes marginal. 4K Low averages 30 FPS, which is barely playable for a shooter. 4K Medium averages 23 FPS with a minimum of 19 and a maximum of 26, 4K High averages 19 FPS, and 4K Ultra averages 15 FPS. These numbers indicate that 4K gaming is not viable with this combo for any settings preset, as even Low settings cannot maintain a stable 30 FPS. The minimum FPS figures at 4K Medium (19) and the average of 23 FPS highlight the GPU’s inability to handle the pixel count.

The data across all resolutions shows a clear hierarchy: 1080p is the only resolution where playable frame rates are achievable, and even then, only at Low or Medium settings. The gap between 1080p Low (85 FPS) and 4K Low (30 FPS) is 55 FPS, a 65% reduction, which is a direct consequence of the Arc B370’s limited pixel throughput and memory bandwidth. The GPU has a pixel rate of 48.00 GPixel/s and a texture rate of 96.00 GTexel/s, with FP32 performance of 6.144 TFLOPS, but these specifications are insufficient for higher resolutions in a modern context, even for an older game.

Resolution Scaling

The resolution scaling behavior of this combo is telling. From 1080p Low to 1440p Low, the average FPS drops from 85 to 55, a reduction of 30 FPS or approximately 35%. From 1080p Low to 4K Low, the average drops from 85 to 30, a reduction of 55 FPS or roughly 65%. This scaling pattern is characteristic of a GPU-bound system, where the CPU is not the limiting factor. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the FPS would remain relatively flat across resolutions as the GPU’s load increases but the CPU’s frame production stays constant. Instead, the FPS drops significantly with each resolution increase, indicating that the Arc B370’s rendering capabilities are the primary constraint.

At Medium settings, the scaling is similar but with lower absolute numbers. 1080p Medium averages 65 FPS, 1440p Medium averages 42 FPS (a 35% drop), and 4K Medium averages 23 FPS (a 65% drop from 1080p). The minimum FPS at 1080p Medium is 56, at 1440p Medium it is 36, and at 4K Medium it is 19, showing that the frame rate variability also worsens at higher resolutions. This is expected for an integrated GPU that uses system shared memory, as the memory bandwidth becomes a limiting factor when the resolution increases and more data needs to be moved.

The fact that the FPS drops roughly in half from 1080p to 4K at every settings preset (e.g., 85 to 30 for Low, 65 to 23 for Medium, 55 to 19 for High, and 42 to 15 for Ultra) strongly suggests that the GPU is the sole limiting component. The Intel Core Ultra 7 265K, with its 20 cores and 5.50 GHz boost clock, could easily handle Minimum’s CPU demands at any resolution, but the Arc B370’s 1280 shading units, 40 TMUs, and 20 ROPs are simply overwhelmed by the pixel count at 1440p and especially 4K. The GPU’s TDP of 25 W and lack of dedicated VRAM (using system shared memory instead) further explain why it struggles with higher resolutions, as it lacks the raw bandwidth and processing power of even entry-level discrete GPUs.

Settings Recommendations

Based on the measured FPS data, the recommended settings for this combo depend heavily on the target resolution and the user’s tolerance for frame rate dips. At 1080p, the best balance between visual quality and performance is Medium settings, which delivers an average of 65 FPS with a minimum of 56 FPS. This is the only settings preset at 1080p that both exceeds 60 FPS on average and stays above 55 FPS at the minimum, making it suitable for a smooth experience in a third-person shooter. Low settings at 1080p offer a higher average of 85 FPS, but the visual downgrade may not be worth the extra 20 FPS, especially since Medium already achieves a playable frame rate. High settings at 1080p drop to 55 FPS average, which is below the 60 FPS threshold and may result in noticeable stuttering in fast-paced gameplay. Ultra settings at 1080p are not recommended, as the 42 FPS average is too low for a shooter.

At 1440p, the data suggests that only Low settings are viable, with an average of 55 FPS. This is just below 60 FPS, but it may be acceptable for single-player or less competitive scenarios. Medium settings at 1440p average 42 FPS, which is below the playable threshold for most users, and High and Ultra are even worse at 35 and 27 FPS respectively. Given the genre, a minimum of 60 FPS is typically preferred, so 1440p Low is the only preset that comes close, though it still falls short. For users who prioritize frame rate over resolution, dropping to 1080p Medium is a better choice than 1440p Low, as it offers a higher average FPS (65 vs 55) and a higher minimum (56 vs no minimum data for 1440p Low).

At 4K, no settings preset is recommended for actual gameplay. The highest average FPS at 4K is 30 FPS on Low settings, which is below the 60 FPS target and even below the 30 FPS minimum for stable play in many cases. The 4K Medium preset averages only 23 FPS with a minimum of 19, which is unplayable for a shooter. Users with a 4K display should either run the game at a lower resolution (e.g., 1080p) or accept that this combo cannot deliver a smooth experience at native 4K. The overall recommendation is to use 1080p Medium settings for the best experience, as it provides the highest settings preset that maintains an average above 60 FPS, with a minimum FPS of 56 that is close to the target. For users who prefer higher visual fidelity, 1080p High at 55 FPS average is a compromise, but the risk of dips below 50 FPS during intense scenes is significant. The data clearly shows that this combo is best suited for 1080p gaming at medium graphics presets, and any attempt to push higher resolutions or settings will result in a subpar experience.